04 May 2010, Posted by The Bear in Agency Life, 0 Comments

“We’re fine with our current agency, thanks.”

The constant challenge with trying to attract people into a different way of thinking is the reluctance to take a step from the ‘safe’ path and do something that’s going to make people really take notice.

This doesn’t have to mean a full rebrand, or writing a massive swear word in your advertising, or – most importantly – spending a unquantifiable amount of money.

What is does mean is taking one step back and taking an unbiased view of what you (or your agency) are currently doing with your marketing material and writing down what could be done better.

It doesn’t need to be a massive list, nor do they have to be game-changing demands for change.During this process you’re potentially going to have to put something aside that all of us hold too dearly. Pride.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic to be proud of something you have done, to have a moment where you finish something, release it to the world and think “I did all this”.

You need to take a clear view of your marketing material and overall identity and ask yourself whether it’s communicating to the right audience, and whether they understand and want to buy into what you are all about.

By reviewing your marketing material in this way, you will be able to fine-tune and push how hard your agency is working for you, and more importantly whether you feel you can’t get what you need from your current creative team.

It can be easy to lose sight of what all your different methods of communication are trying to achieve when you’re in the thick of it. But a regular review of the marketing message is an invaluable way of measuring the performance of your creative agency.

If it’s not getting your money’s worth, or aren’t convinced your existing agency can’t step it up a gear, then it’s time to review who is helping to represent your company in front of your client-base.

Now is the perfect time to such a review. The economy is nowhere near being back on its feet, but those metaphorical green shoots are poking their heads through the pile of manure the bankers left behind and a highly competitive market is starting to flourish.

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James Kindred is co-founder and Art Director of Condiment, a creative agency in the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk.